The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-12-20

business and forty-eight millions say take a
slice OF of iron and so it goes all round. Rir-
nlnghem boasts that she can make iron at
nine dollars q ton, She is now selling it for
eighteen and is protected against English
iron by 6 duty OF six dollars and fifty cents a
ton. ReduCeethat duty to three dollars and
birmingham could still make money. She
says She can. Her furnaces wouldn't stop nor
wages be reduced but little, and that little
would le more than compensated when the
laborer could bay his hat and his blankets and
his WOODEN shirt and his coat and his shoes and
his molasses cheaper than he did before Take
slice all round Off OF the neceSsaries of life,
and ii need be put it on the Injuries The
case OFT he sugar planter is the hardest of all,
for it is buckle and tongue with him now
Sugar is cheap, very cheap, Fourteen pounds to
the dollar, and nlolasses is cheap, and yet the
government collected last year tfty-six mill
lions of dollars from the duty on imported
sugar and moasses. Just think of it. Twice
as much as was collected on iron
and steel, and ten times as much as was col
lected on woodland yet there are forty-nine
million people bowling for cheaper sugar. Let
any man put the question TO himself. Sup
pose you had your all invested in q sugar plan
tation and you could Just barely live at the
present low prices, what would you think of a
government that would crush you? What
would you think of your member of congress
who voted for such measure? And right
there is the rub. The members OF congress
eic SoluS 10 Slttliu Uy In6H COnStlUu0nUS-an
they ought to. 1t is going to be political
long suffering work to harmonic on any BILL
especially on the eve OF another presidential
election. Mr. Cleveland has shown more dis
regard OF his personal interests than any presi-
jackson. New York is the pivotal state,
the key as it were, and New York is
for protection and Mr.. Cleveland might have
Judged and bridged over this question until
the next election, but he won't fudge about
o1axr% II. a. I.
elected by the biggest mugwump party that
ever was known. He will lose lots of high
tariff democrats, but he will gain more from
those republicans who are for tariff reform.
The masses of the American people are on the
free-trade line for the masses are farmers and
others who get no protection, and they are very
jealous OF those who do. A farmer said to me
the other day: "Why don't Uncle Sam pay me
ten dollars bounty on every bale of cotton l
raise? He pays Joe Brown six dollars and
half on every ton of pig iron and I'm Just as
good as Joe Brown"
There is no sentiment about tire lie.
The time was when there was a thrivi.g
wagon shop at every crossroads in this
country, but our people had no internal pro-
lection against the north, and so northern
wagons came down and dried up these humble
shops, and the workmen had to quit and try
some other business. Ii a southern farmer can
buy northern wagon for sixty dollars, he will
not pay his nearest nabof SlXty-five. Our
WIVES VIII Duy SluuSgieQ lace OF linen rom an
old Irish woman for half tie regular price if
they can get it. Heard hardware merchant
ask q farmer ii he wanted q bull-tongue plow
Tor less than ten cents, and the farmer said:
Yes, want it for nickel If can get it."
Some Jews have lust Come to our town with a
big lot of clothing that they say they got from
fire. and the folks are just hocking there to
get u four dollar coat for q dollar and
half Our regular merchants are mad
about it and want protection from all such in
nVslT Itft r1,.,l.
wants protection for himself and his family.
1t is the same old prayer: "Oh, Lord, bless me
and my wife, my sen John and his wife-us
four and no more"
Then there is the question about what to do
with this internal internal revenue. The
farmer not only gets no protection or bounty
ON what he grows, but if he grows tobacco he is
actually charged duty Of eight cents pound
on it, and good deal of it can't be sold for
much more than the tax. l don't blame Vir-
ginia and North Carolina for raising howl.
Then there is the whisky tax that nobody OBJ
lects to. No, not even the man who drinks it,
for he knows that ne oaghtent to do it, and is
perfectly willing Tor everybody else to quit,
and he wouldn't drink it himself if he was
away off on a desert island where he couldn't
get it. But what we do object to is the way
it is collected. Rich men only can afford to
make it under the expensive regulations of the
government. The common man is ruled out.
He may be fifty miles from market for hi
-lOO IdI W ilttui ll-Dub nc Gan UldkS IL
into whisky. Why not let every man make it
who wantsto and let the government collect the
tax from the dealer. The revenue would be
just as great and not half SO expensive. Let
every man have an equal chance. money or no
money. Our people are utterly tired and out
ragged at this inquisition business this hunting
down by day and by night, with murderous
weapons-this prosecution of the poor man for
doing what the government licenses the rich
man to do.
We'll, l reckon that congress will harmonic
this thing some way. 1 hope so. I sympa-
thize with them. 1 do. I'm not mad with
Randall nor Carlisle, but l sympathize with
them, and | do hope they viii pray over this
business and fix it up. One thing is certain
they must stop that surplus. 1t is the peoples
money, and if congress can't do anything else
they can give it back to the people. POM it
back in the jug. Give it back to the states ac-
cording to population. Then Georgia will get
about four millions year, and that will run
the legislature that sits and sets so long and
matches nothing, and it viii pay all our taxes
and school our children. 1t will do all that
and more. BILL ARP.